Long-snouted seahorse

Photo: seahorses_of_the_world · © all rights reserved

The largest seahorse in the Mediterranean, Hippocampus guttulatus clings to posidonia blades and gorgonian branches with its prehensile tail, waiting to ambush small crustaceans with a lightning-fast snout strike. Males brood eggs in a ventral pouch and give birth to up to 300 juveniles. Menorca's protected meadows are critical habitat; populations in the wider Mediterranean have collapsed where grass beds have been destroyed by anchor damage and trawling.